Pope Francis’ journey to South Korea from Aug. 13-18 inaugurated the first of three visits to Asian countries over the next five months and announced the pontiff’s clear focus on a continent that is home to 60 percent of the world’s population. The pope’s third apostolic journey outside of Italy — and his first to Asia since his election in March 2013 — was officially to celebrate the Sixth Asian Youth Day and to beatify Paul Yun Ji-chung and his 123 companions, Koreans who died as martyrs for the Christian faith in the 18th and 19th centuries. His message, however, was heard far beyond the confines of the divided Korean peninsula.

Pope Francis greets young people as he arrives for a meeting with Asian youth at the Sanctuary of Solmoe on Aug. 15. CNS photo

Pope Francis made clear from his very arrival in Seoul the close connection between the legacy of the martyrs and the developing faith life of young Catholics. He said in his opening remarks when he was welcomed by Korean President Park Geun-hye, “These two celebrations complement one another. Korean culture understands well the inherent dignity and wisdom of our elders and honors their place in society ... A wise and great people do not only cherish their ancestral traditions, they also treasure their young, seeking to pass on the legacy of the past and to apply it to the challenges of the present.”

Korea stands as a special case in the phenomenal success story of Catholic growth in Asia. The Korean Church’s explosive rise in the last 50 years has stemmed from the spiritual bounty of Pope St. John Paul II’s visits in 1984 and 1989, the remarkable social work done by Catholics, including hospitals, homes for the elderly, schools and orphanages, and the key support given by Catholic leaders to the democracy movement in the 1970s and ’80s. Today, millions of Korean Catholics hold the Church in great esteem, especially young people who regularly see politicians, musicians and sports stars publicly discussing their faith. And then there are the unique role of Korean laypeople and the heritage of the martyrs.

A lay movement

The emergence of the Church in Korea would have been impossible without the crucial work of laypeople. The faith was not brought to the peninsula by foreign missionaries but was sought out by Korean nobles in the late 18th century after reading Christian texts. The first foreign priest was thus astonished to discover in 1791 a colony of 4,000 Catholics. Opposition to the new religion from the state was fierce, and across the next century more than 10,000 Christians died in persecutions.

Pope Francis acknowledged the exceptional participation of laypeople in Korea’s history. “The Church in Korea,” he told a gathering of lay apostolates on Aug. 16, “as we all know, is heir to the faith of generations of lay persons who persevered in the love of Christ Jesus and the communion of the Church despite the scarcity of priests and the threat of severe persecution ... Today, as ever, the Church needs credible lay witnesses to the saving truth of the Gospel, its power to purify and transform human hearts, and its fruitfulness for building up the human family in unity, justice and peace.”

Youth rise up

Pope Francis greets a bishop as he arrives for a meeting with the bishops of Asia at the Haemi
shrine in Haemi, South Korea, on Aug. 17. CNS photo

The Korean martyrs remain a particular source of pride to Korean Catholics. Pope Francis spoke of their courage and their relevance to today during his beatification homily on Aug. 16 at a Mass attended by nearly 1 million Catholics. “So often we today,” the pontiff declared, “can find our faith challenged by the world, and in countless ways we are asked to compromise our faith, to water down the radical demands of the Gospel and to conform to the spirit of this age. Yet the martyrs call out to us to put Christ first and to see all else in this world in relation to him and his eternal kingdom. They challenge us to think about what, if anything, we ourselves would be willing to die for.”

That was a particular message he gave to the tens of thousands of young people at the Aug. 17 closing Mass for Asian Youth Day, which brought together young Catholics from more than 30 Asian countries. He told them not to succumb to the temptations of materialism but to “spend these years in building a holier, more missionary and humble Church.” He reminded them as well that they are not just the Church of the future but of the present and that they must express their faith in their daily lives and as participants in their own cultures. “As young people not only in Asia,” he said, “but also as sons and daughters of this great continent, you have a right and duty to take full part in the life of your societies. Do not be afraid to bring the wisdom of faith to every aspect of social life! As Asians too, you see and love, from within, all that is beautiful, noble and true in your cultures and traditions. Yet as Christians, you also know that the Gospel has the power to purify, elevate and perfect this heritage.”

Uniting Korea

What's Next?

After Pope Francis’ trip to Korea — his third outside of Italy, following his July 2013 trip to Brazil for World Youth Day and May’s visit to the Holy Land — he will continue to focus on Asia, with visits scheduled to Sri Lanka and the Philippines in January.

It is possible his next trip after visiting those Asian nations will be to the United States. On the flight to Seoul, Pope Francis did nothing to dispel rumors that he’ll be attending the World Meeting of Families — Philadelphia 2015 next September. In fact, when NBC News reporter Anne Thompson asked the pope in Italian if he would travel to Philadelphia, the pope responded, “si.”

According to Catholic News Service, on the flight back to Rome, Pope Francis said he has received invitations to Washington, D.C., and New York. “Maybe the three cities together, no?” he said, adding that he could also visit the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City on the same trip — “but it is not certain."

Perfecting that heritage means working for peace and reconciliation.

The Korean peninsula, divided since 1953 and with one of the world’s most despotic atheist regimes in North Korea, was also the setting for Pope Francis’ plea for peace in the world. For good reason, his closing Mass at Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul, site of sanctuary for pro-democracy protesters in the past decades, included a call for genuine reconciliation between North and South for the stability and the future of all Asia.

Indeed, Pope Francis is looking very strategically at the rest of the continent, where the Church has witnessed exponential growth in the last century. The Catholic population in 1978 was 52 million. Today, there are more than 132 million Catholics, who are nevertheless still only some 3 percent of the total population. Moreover, Pope Francis is aware of the host of challenges facing Christians, including persecutions by authoritarian and often nationalist governments and religious majorities, the struggle to bring democracy, endemic poverty in many regions and remaining faithful in the face of secularism and materialism.

Focus on Asia

In January, Pope Francis heads to Sri Lanka, home to 1.5 million Catholics, and then the Philippines, one of the largest Catholic countries in the world, with more than 87 million members. He will have messages for them, but he will continue speaking to the entire continent.

Pope Francis leads the Lord’s Prayer as he celebrates the closing
Mass of Asian Youth Day at Haemi Castle on Aug. 17. CNS photo

Speaking to the bishops of Asia gathered Aug. 17 at Haemi Castle, where the Korean martyrs were held before their deaths in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Pope Francis declared, “On this vast continent which is home to a great variety of cultures, the Church is called to be versatile and creative in her witness to the Gospel through dialogue and openness to all. Dialogue, in fact, is an essential part of the mission of the Church in Asia.”

Authentic dialogue for Pope Francis entails evangelizing with a clear sense of Catholic identity, openness and empathy but with the courage to challenge culture when it is incompatible with genuine Christian values. Pope Francis showed this poignantly when he visited a home for handicapped children in Kkottongnae and made a silent but powerful stop at a cemetery for aborted children.

Unique touches

Pope Francis on Aug. 17
baptizes Lee Hojin, whose son
died in the April ferry accident
in South Korea that killed 300. CNS photo

Pope Francis’ Korean trip was also replete with his now customary gestures and special moments. He drove around Seoul in a compact Korean car, eschewed the papal helicopter to become the first pope to ride on a high-speed bullet train, ate the Korean national dish of kimchi, held an impromptu Q&A session with the youth and posed for numerous “selfies” with enthralled youth.

The pope also consoled the families of the 300 victims of Korea’s recent ferry disaster, wore a symbolic yellow ribbon on his cassock in solidarity with them and personally baptized 62-year-old Lee Ho-Jin, who lost a child in the tragedy, at the nunciature, or papal embassy, in Seoul.

Pope Francis left his mark on Korea with memorable homilies, impromptu encounters and moments of tender pastoral care.

In a word, he was himself.

One small event that perhaps forecasted the enduring legacy of the papal visit came when Lee Ho-Jin, just baptized by the hand of the pope, took as his baptismal name “Francis.”

Matthew Bunson is OSV’s senior correspondent.

Greetings to China

Pope Francis isn’t leaving China in the dark as he shines a spotlight on the Church in Asia. During the flight from Rome to South Korea, the pope sent a telegram of greeting and prayer to China’s President Xi Jinping, according to the Vatican press office, despite a lack of diplomatic relations between the country and the Holy See.

“Upon entering Chinese air space, I extend best wishes to your excellency and your fellow citizens, and I invoke the divine blessings of peace and well-being upon the nation,” the telegram said.

It is customary for the pope to extend wishes as he flies over countries — providing that he is invited into their airspace. The last time a pope requested to use China’s airspace — Pope St. John Paul II on his way to Asia in 1989 — the country refused.

On the flight back to Rome, when asked about possible future travel plans, Pope Francis said he would go to China “tomorrow.” “We respect the Chinese people,” the pope said. “The Church asks only the liberty to do its work, no other condition."